Police seize over 17,500 illegal goods from Oxford Street
Police have confiscated a haul of fake designer and illegal items from four shops on Oxford Street, according to widespread reports.
The raids saw an “astonishing” 17,500 items removed from four souvenir and sweet shops on Thursday night, and 4,000 items taken from an unregistered food business.
Trading standards officers captured unsafe toys, counterfeit clothing and incorrectly-labelled nicotine products during the raid.
Operation Jade saw police also confiscate two bags of food with more than the legal limit of THC, a key compound in cannabis.
“Oxford Street is the nation’s high street, our shoppers should be able to trust the products they are buying in the city are as described ‘on the tin’,” said Heather Acton, the Westminster City Council cabinet member for communities and regeneration.
“This Christmas is make or break for many high street shops,” she continued, “and checking retailers will support legitimate businesses and protect the reputation of the West End as a leading destination for shoppers.”
But the help may be too late for some retailers, with House of Fraser announcing the permanent closure of its flagship store on the famous shopping street in the heart of the capital, on Wednesday.